The Labor enquirer., 1887-10-01
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have asked you all to meet M
for the purpose Of arranging ou'
affairs ia more satisfactory way
to both you and me.
Perhaps you never thought thai
all employees are, to some extent
partners in the business they are
employed in. Often. if not gen.
orally, the employer gets much
larger wages than his employees
get, but not alsveys. Sometimes he
loses all he has invested, and gets
no wages at all, whilst the en-
ployes have, weekly or monthly
received regular wages for As''
work.
Now | think it is only fair that
your wages should be regulated,
as mine are, by the amount of sue
cess we have in our business, and
that it would be better for all OF
US if oou would take as large a
share as possible of your wages in
the form of an annual dividend.
That means, of course, that you
should take in the form of weekly
wages, only what you actually
need for current use.
My income or wage last year
was $4,000, and for 1885 it was
$4,000. In those years, therefore,
my wages were much larger than
any of yours; but in 1884 got
nothing for my labor, but had a
clear loss of $4,000, and therefore
in that year each of you drew
more from the business than did.
For the last three years, my
wages have averaged $4,000 a year.
think, however, the business is
now in such form that ! could in
future average more than $4,000
year out of it, by the present
wage system; but as ] consider
that system degrading to all con-
cerned, ! am willing to assess my
weekly wages at $50, or about the
rate of $4,000 year, ttwo-hfths of
my last years income), and to
leave half of that amount as my
investment in the annual surplus.
You number hundred men and
boys all told, an the total sum of
your wages last year was about
S5o,ooo.SWe will, if you please,
let your nominal wages remain
unaltered, and we will suppose
that you leave $4,000 of your
wages, to accumulate as annual
surplus; and we will estimate that
the surplus-after paying all busi-
ness expenses-amounts to S27,-
ooo. From that amount will first
be taken credits to you of $4,000,
and to me, of S2,ooo-our several
surplus investments. The balance
will be $4,000, and iprpPese that
so'per cent Of that surplus be d.
yided amongst the investors, each
to receive in proportion to his in
yestment, Thus, my investment
In the surplus being ohe-sixth of
the whole, ] should be entitled to
one-sixth of the first 50 per cent
dividend, and your aggregate in
vestments being five-sixths of the
surplus, you would receive five
sixths of the first dividend. My
share would be SI,25o, and yours
would be So,25o.
But there is the remaining so
per cent to be disposed of, and |
propose to have that distributed
equally among you. That would
give SIS to each;-not very large
sum certainly, but quite enough
for nest egg.
You may figure up that have
estimated the years profits
above nominal wages and other
expenses, at 81 5000, and that my
share | put at Sl,2so, and yours at
$3.50. My estimate may be
either too high or too low, and is
given only as an illustration of the
results of the system which wish
to adopt. 1t remains for you to
accept or reject my offer, and |
4. .<.. AL. 49,. 4.